Batman: Beyond Terry
by kobez2.0
Summary: Terry is killed in action and his identity is leaked to the media. Naturally Terry's friends will be hounded for interviews. Rated T to be safe.
1. Prologue

A/N: My muse has created a blockade on all my other projects and has demanded that I post this, so here goes. Enjoy.

And remember to review, I always love to hear what you guys think of my work and any writing advice or critiques would be most appreciated. And before I forget entirely, this fic is rated for language and violence and shout not be viewed by those with faint hearts or easily offended sensibilities.

Disclaimer: I am merely playing in someone elses sand box with someone elses toys. I will in no way recieve financial gains from this fic and am only writing for fun and feedback.

* * *

07 March 2042

Gone was the time when Terry McGinnis would enter the secluded mansion and go straight to the grandfather clock in the office that sat just off the main entrance. Now his new ritual was to turn left and go up the winding staircase and step into Bruce's bedroom. He walked past the slightly opened doors to empty rooms and wondered for perhaps the millionth time why the old codger didn't spring and have someone come in to take care of the place. It was no wonder the old man was becoming sicker by the day; seeing the beautiful home he grew up in decay into a dark and depressing mausoleum would make anyone lose the will to live.

"Where the hell did he go?" he asked as he walked into the room and saw that Bruce's bed sheets were mussed but the man was nowhere to be found.

* * *

"Aren't you supposed to be on bed rest?" Terry asked as he descended the stairs that wound into the cave beneath the old mansion. He didn't bother to hide his presence; no matter what he did or how hard he tried he could never hide from Bruce. Even pushing a hundred the man was still too good.

"Do you know how many times I've been put on bed rest?" The gruff old man asked from where he sat slumped in the chair in front of the computer terminal.

"More than your fair share?"

"Right. Now guess how many times I listened."

"Right. Even after you flew your jet into that kryptonite missile you didn't stay down long."

"They decided Clark should keep me on bed rest because he was too strong, fast and impervious for me to pull one over on. One glare and he folded like a lawn chair in a hurricane."

"Yeah, good times." Terry deadpanned, "so are you going to tell me why you're down here or do you wanna play twenty questions?"

"I'm adding the finishing touches to your new assistant."

"Excuse me?" Terry asked, "Since when do I have an assistant?"

"Since you couldn't maintain this place if you're life depended on it."

"So where is it?" Terry sighed; he didn't feel like arguing with the old man. He could technically win now because Bruce would get all worked up an either his heart or lungs would start acting up, but he just wasn't desperate enough to win an argument that he would stoop to that level."

"Over there." Bruce raised his hand from scratching behind Ace's ears to point to a collection of small robots, none bigger than a small child, "Alfred controls them."

"Who?"

"I do sir." A British accent filtered through the disused speakers.

"Who the hell is that?" Terry asked Bruce.

"Alfred. He's and AI I made to help you out around here. Once he finishes interfacing with the drones he will be able to do everything from simple maintenance to major surgeries."

"Right. And I suppose to had the R&D guys bring these down here?" the only response he got was a raised eyebrow, "so why did you do this? I've been flying solo since you got sick and before then you did little more than watch the video feed to fend off boredom. I don't need help."

"Yet." Bruce corrected, "You don't need help yet. But one day you will. Or maybe you won't. One day you'll be long gone and someone else will find this place and want to be Batman. They'll need a mentor. Someone to show them the ropes."

"How is it supposed to do that? It hasn't had a whole lot of time to learn anything from you."

"I've been working on it for a while now, Alfred has been learning for nearly a year."

"You're planning for a legacy?" Terry asked from behind the partition where he was changing out of his street clothes and into the iconic Bat-suit, "I thought you wanted the legend to die with you."

"A very wise woman once told me that the world will always need Batman. I'm just making sure it has a good one."

"Jeez Bruce, you must have been something back in your prime." Terry mused as he came out from behind the partition with the bottom half of the suit already in place.

"Why do you say that?"

"You're almost a hundred and you're still planning for every eventuality."

"When you're one of the only humans in a league full of aliens and metas, you learn to have plans for everything. Because you can't beat them in a straight out brawl, you have to out think them."

"I'm just saying." Terry held up his hands in defence, "One day soon they're going to pin down time travel and I'm gonna go back just to see how good you were. Maybe convince young you to have a go at Wonder Woman." He barely ducked under Bruce's cane as it flew across the cave at him.

"There's a reason I never pursued anything with Diana." Bruce growled.

"And what reason could that be?" Terry asked as he pulled on the top half of the suit and started up the Bat-mobile's engines and software, "She wanted you like a drowning man wants air, and she wasn't too hard to look at either."

"She is an immortal Princess from a race that has never known disease, death or aging. Sure we could have been happy then but as I aged and became crippled by past injuries she would have either begun to fall for Clark, another nearly immortal being, and I would have grown to hate both of them. Or she would suffer in emotional agony while I withered away and died. Or maybe-"

"Ok I get it." Terry said as he pulled the mask on, "As an immortal goddess she doesn't have to know about the finer points of the human condition."

"Then stop nattering at me and go do your rounds."

"On it." Batman said as he leapt into the Bat-mobile and punched the engines, streaking out of the cave with a roar and blast of heat.

* * *

He ejected from the Bat-mobile as they entered the airspace over Downtown Gotham and had the high tech machine run a patrol using it's highly advanced sensors to find sounds of trouble while he ran a separate patrol to cover more ground.

His earpiece crackled to life, "Sir there is a hostage situation at the Simons office complex. SWAT and negotiators have been trying to diffuse the situation all day but things have just escalated."

"I'm only a few blocks away; I'll see what I can do."

"Very good sir."

"Don't call me sir."

"Very good sir." He could be mistaken but did he just hear Bruce laugh in the background?

******************

"Alright Bruce," Terry said as he leapt out of the jet and glided off the landing pad and towards the main computer, "If I'm going to be working with the new AI you need to modify its programming." Bruce didn't stir from where he sat in the chair. "Bruce?" he went over, fearing the worse but his worries were relieved when he saw the rise and fall and heard the rattle in Bruce's chest.

"Wake up old man." He said as he shook him gently.

"What did the doctor say about waking me?" he growled.

"What would the doctor say if I showed up with a cane wrapped around my head because I tried to carry you to your bed?" Terry didn't growl but he held eye contact with Bruce, not budging an inch.

*******************

17 June 2042

Bruce's health deteriorated and he passed away. Contrary to the old man's wishes, people came to his funeral. Lots of people. At first people thought it was weird that Justice Leaguers, both past and present, were in attendance. But ultimately they assumed that, being as rich as he was, Bruce simply donated a lot of money to the League. Somehow no one was able to find the very public Wayne Enterprises financial records that showed how Bruce had personally financed the first Watch Tower Orbital Space Station back when there were just six members and Batman, and Superman still wore his iconic red and blue costume. Speaking of the iconic red and blues, Superman had just arrived and he was wearing his old duds.

"Terry, It's a pleasure to see you again." Superman strode forward and offered his hand, "It's a shame that it couldn't be under happier circumstances."

"Likewise, sir." Terry took Superman's hand and shook it politely, as far as the public knew, they were only acquainted through Bruce.

"Mr. Wayne did a lot of good work in his lifetime. I hope it won't end with his funeral?" Superman not-so-subtly asked about the future of Batman.

"Bruce's work will live on." Terry assured, "He told me a few months ago that when he died he would leave it all to me.

* * *

21 September 2044

Batman walked past the display case of costumes on his way out for patrol when he stopped right in front of the original Bat-suit. There was something he'd always wanted to try, but had been afraid to with the old man around.

"New costume?" Superman asked, as he flew down the launch way and landed by the main computer.

"You're not the only one reminiscing about old times." Terry commented from beneath Bruce's old cowl as he reached up and pulled it away from his throat.

"Hunch your shoulders and slouch a little." Clark told him. And Terry did, punching and kicking several times to get a feel for how the cowl would affect him while on patrol.

"You know you don't have to go out tonight." Superman said, "You're getting married tomorrow, I can take over for a few days if you want."

"No."

"Keep you company on patrol?"

"No."

"Alright, I'll just cut to the chase then." Superman told him, looking somewhat nervous, "I'm here to offer you full membership into the league. I know you wanted to in the past but Bruce wouldn't let you."

Terry glared at him, "No."

"I didn't think so." Superman sighed, "The offer still stands."

"I'm not joining the League."

Terry walked to the landing pad, not wanting to find out how the cape would affect his flight in so tight a space. He climbed into the car and activated the controls.

"But if you need me, give me a call." He said as the canopy slid shut and he rocketed out of the cave with the deafening roar of the engines pushed to the max.

Clark let out a sad chuckle, "It's almost like talking to Bruce."

Terry dropped out of the bottom of the Bat-mobile and landed lightly on the rooftop of an office building in the outskirts of downtown Gotham. The car's advanced computers could not only fly a patrol pattern, but its sensors could detect what was happening at ground level and determine if it was a crime or not. So Terry set about testing the limits of the cape.

Could he still fly or would it screw up his aerodynamics? But that didn't really matter; in this day and age there were any number of ways to make that a non issue. The real issues were rather easy to figure out. First was; did it look cool? And second was did it frighten criminals? And both had been answered almost seventy years ago, when Bruce Wayne first donned the persona of Batman and began cleaning up the streets of Gotham.

"Alfred?" he asked as he activated the cowls dated communication system.

"Yes sir?" the AI asked.

Terry sighed; nothing he did could make the computer stop calling him 'sir', "I want you to draw up plans to incorporate the aesthetic appeal of the original Bat-suit into an updated model."

"Yes sir," the British sounding AI answered dutifully, "Renderings will be ready for your perusal when you return."

There was a scream from below and he went to investigate, peering over the ledge of the building he was currently standing on. One would think that he could simply jump in but he had learned the hard way that the acoustics at this height sometimes played tricks on your ears, making you think something was right there when it was in fact several blocks over. He saw a girl running, and then an ominous green glow enveloped one of the steel doors that acted as an emergency exit into the alley. The door exploded off its hinges and Blight stepped into the alley. Terry paused just long enough to send an apology message to Dana; technically he wasn't even supposed to be wearing the bat-suit tonight. With that being done he wasted no time in leaping off the building and hurling a barrage of cryogenic batarrangs at the radioactive monster. All of the batarrangs found their mark and shrouded Blight in a casing of thick arctic ice, still growing and hardening even as Batman landed gracefully in the alley a few dozen feet away.

Blight's eyes glowed brighter and then his whole body began to glow, cracking the ice and exploding outwards when it could no longer contain the intense heat that Blight was generating. Terry leapt sideways into a series of flips and somersaults before taking shelter behind a large trash bin.

"Ahhh Batman. New suit?" Blight asked as Terry launched another barrage of batarrangs only to have Blight harmlessly detonate them before they reached their mark.

Terry barely had time to react as a ball of explosive green radiation hurled at him. He twisted to the side and leapt onto the wall, another ball came at him and he leapt off the wall and flipped gracefully through the air, not even noticing if the cape was hindering his movements. Another ball hurtled at him and he twisted in midair to avoid it, throwing a third barrage of cryogenic batarrangs as he did. The odd movement flipped the cape into his face and he collided painfully with the wall, a few seconds later he hit the ground and only the cowls armour plating kept him from losing consciousness when his head bounced off the pavement. He fought briefly to get the cape out of his face and when he was finally able to see again, his field of view was dominated by a rapidly approaching ball of green energy.

* * *

A/N2: Well there that is. I hope you enjoyed it. I already have the next chapter done, so keep your eyes peeled for that sometime in the near future. This is only going to be five chapters at the most, so hopefully it won't take too long to finish.

Peace,

-Kobez2.0- 01/15/2010


	2. Chapter 1

22 September 2044.

0530 hours.

Part of Alfred's primary function was to compile news stories and look for connections and extrapolate possible criminal involvement in an attempt to root out organized crime and corruption in Gotham City. One news article after another came across his awareness and was quickly shuffled aside; City Hall commissions slum restoration, Terry McGinnis to donate millions to orphanage, muggings increasing on north end, 135 year old woman is killed by drunk driver. So when he sees a report stating that Batman had been killed by Blight he simply ignores is. After all, the villain responsible may change but the news media always reports that Batman had died. He went back to working on the rendering that Master Terry had asked for.

The jet returned to the hanger just before daybreak, moving somehow less fluidly than it usually did.

"Good morning sir, I hope your patrol went smoothly. I have completed several renderings for your perusal and you asked me to remind you to contact the soon to be Mrs. McGinnis regarding breakfast this morning."

No reply.

"You are being unusually quiet, sir, is everything alright? Do you require medical assistance?"

No answer.

"Sir?" Alfred could not simply access the cowl's video feed because Terry had gone with the original cowl, and it did not have video feed capabilities.

Alfred opened the canopy and a small maintenance droid reported that the cock-pit was empty. Alfred went about his daily routine; supervising maintenance work and monitoring news feeds to look for any correlation that would indicate weather something required Batman's attention. It was not often that Master Terry did not return in the morning but it did happen. Sometimes he would stop at his fiancé's or at the office in order to make a business meeting.

1047 hours.

_Beep-beep, beep-beep, beep-beep._

He searches the spectrum of signals that are whizzing about in the cave and homes in on the one going to Terry's cell phone in time to hear the message that is left.

"Terry where the hell are you?" Dana Tan sounds displeased, "I know you place a lot of importance on your work but you promised that as of sunrise yesterday you would leave it behind until after our honeymoon. You're already over half an hour late, if the staff here didn't know us so well they would have already had me vacate the table. Call me when you get this, bye. Love you."

Curious.

Alfred searched the internet for recent news stories concerning the death of Batman.

_Search: Batman, death, 22 September 2044._

_Searching..._

_Searching..._

_Searching..._

_File found..._

_Accessing data..._

_Accessing data..._

_Compiling data..._

_Streaming video feed._

"_... was found in an alley this morning. Police are unsure if it is the real Batman or not but insiders report that what remains of the suit is very advanced. Lending credence to the theory that this is in fact the body of the real Batman is the crime scene itself. Investigators report that Blight had fired several blasts of concentrated radiation before finally hitting his target. Autopsy is under way and police report that they aren't even going to try and identify him with facial recognition or dental records, because there is nothing to identify him with. The armour protected the rest of his body fairly well from the astronomical levels of radiation but somehow his headpiece failed to do the same._

Alfred activated the suits homing beacon but his systems reported that it had been disabled and that high levels of radiation were detected immediately before it went offline.

"Oh my." Alfred said before activating the subroutine Oracle to search through the various levels of security surrounding the crime labs mainframe.

_**Initializing: Subroutine Oracle**__._

_Initializing..._

_Initializing..._

_Active. _

_**Target: Crime Lab Mainframe.**_

_Accessing..._

_Accessing..._

_First Firewall Bypassed._

_Accessing..._

_Second Firewall Bypassed._

_Accessing..._

_Accessing..._

_Accessing..._

_Third Firewall Bypassed._

_**Search: Morgue.**_

_**Search Topic: Batman.**_

_Searching..._

_Searching..._

_Subject Batman Located._

_**Access: Files Associated With Subject Batman.**_

_Accessing..._

_Accessing..._

_Information found. _

_Configuring Data._

_Configuring..._

_Displaying._

Subject: Batman.

Physical Condition: Exceptional. Subject was above Olympic level athlete, astounding muscle tone and definition.

Notes: Subject has suffered horrific radiation burns to the face and head, making identification by even dental records impossible. Even DNA records wouldn't be accurate due to the astonishing amounts of radiation that his body absorbed.

The suit seems to have protected his body from the radiation far better than his head piece did. Identification by finger prints may be possible.

_**Access: IAFIS Database Search**__._

_Accessing..._

_Accessing..._

_**Locate: Print Sample.**_

_Locating..._

_Locating..._

_Print Sample found._

_**Compare Sample With Cave Records.**_

_Comparing..._

_Comparing..._

_Match Found. 100% match._

_Subject: Terrance McGinnis._

_Status: Deceased._

Bruce had created him specifically to ensure that the Batman lived on throughout the generations. He had even planned for the event that Terry's identity was compromised, or he was outright killed.

_**Create Back-Up.**_

_Creating..._

_Creating..._

_Creating..._

_Back-Up Created._

_**Transfer To Secondary Location.**_

_Transferring..._

_Transferring..._

_Transferring..._

_Transfer Complete._

_**Duplicate Archives. Transfer To Secondary Location.**_

_Duplicating..._

_Duplicating..._

_Duplicating..._

_Duplication Complete. Transferring Files._

_Transferring..._

_Transferring..._

_Transferring..._

_Transfer Complete._

_**Activate: Scorched Earth.**_

_Initializing..._

_Scorched Earth Initialized. _

_Self Destruct In 3..._

_2..._

_1._

The Napalm charges in the cave began detonating, rapidly engulfing the famed Bat-cave in an inferno that was nearly unmatched in power. The inferno spread to the trophy platform and the charges in the jet exploded, raining bits and pieces of charred metal and electronics all over the subterranean inferno. Alfred opened the Grandfather clock and the inferno raged with new intensity, quickly engulfing the old clock and then the office it sat in. In short order the entire mansion was a raging inferno, a funeral pyre for the fallen hero.

Alfred regretted allowing the house to burn as it was but the fire was dying out and he needed it to burn up the cases of costumes. Bruce would be very displeased if Richard, Tim or Barbara were to be discovered as retired vigilantes through their connection to him.

Finally the last set of charges activated, this time in the very walls of the cave itself.

****

Firefighters had gotten word that the old Wayne Mansion was going up in flames but by the time they had been informed and made the trip, the darkly beautiful old estate was totally beyond salvation. At this point they couldn't even begin to quell the flames, let alone extinguish them so they opted to stay on scene and ensure that the raging inferno didn't spread to the surrounding forest.

They didn't think that the fire would be put out until it had burned through all of the available fuel but they were wrong. Because they heard sharp _cracks! _Followed by a deep rumbling and the mansion and the cliff it sat on crumbled and slid into the ocean below.

**Two Weeks Later**

"Mrs. McGinnis, thank you so much for allowing us to do this interview."

"You're welcome." Mary said, she had aged remarkably well but since the death of her oldest son she had begun to look a great deal older than her forty-two years deserved, especially considering all of the anti-aging products that were so readily available.

"By now it's no secret that your son was Batman," the interviewer began. He sat out of the camera's view but directly in Mary's. He was a fairly tall man with a head of immaculately styled auburn hair and a stylish blue suit that had been provided by one of the news stations sponsors, his face was far gentler than his words would suggest.

"That's right."

"Wow, umm OK. So there has been speculation that Bruce Wayne was the original Batman, given his relation to your son and his vast wealth this theory seems plausible. Do you have any comment about this?"

"Not really. So far as I know Bruce Wayne was a drunken womanizer until he became too old to continue that life style. Then he just secluded himself in his home. Truth be told I never really thought very highly of him until he employed Terry as his personal assistant."

"That seems to lend credence to the theory that he was the original Batman, possibly the person who trained your son."

Marry laughed, "Mr. Wayne was many things, but he was not in good enough shape to train Terry for something like being Batman. Mr. Wayne was not the type of person to get involved directly, he chose to help people through charitable donations."

"So you don't think that Bruce Wayne was the original Batman?"

"Don't get me wrong he was a very intelligent man, but I doubt he could compare to the rumours I've heard about Batman."

"Fair enough. So how did you find out that your son was Batman?"

"He told me." Mary said plainly, "During his senior year at Hamilton Hill High School."

"Really? Just like that? He came out and said 'I'm Batman'?"

"Not exactly like that. I'd been yelling at him about falling asleep in class _again_ and my mother's intuition suddenly kicked in and I was able to work it out of him." Marry sighed sadly, "I didn't believe him at first, I grounded him for lying to me."

"When did you first come to believe that he was Batman?"

"It wasn't until after Terry had inherited most of Mr. Wayne's fortune. The first thing he did was move Mathew and I to a nice suburb on the outskirts of Gotham. He provided for us financially and ensured that Mathew would not be tempted or influenced by drugs or gangs."

"That was very nice of him." the interviewer said.

"I thought so to, but he didn't think much of it. He said that looking out for his family was worth more than the cost of the house and everything. So we were walking back to the hotel when a group of Jokerz walked right up to us. I knew that they roamed around but I always thought that they just preyed on people who walked into alleys and stuff. I never expected them to come right onto the street in the wealthy districts.

* * *

"Well what do we have here boys?" a sadistic sounding voice asked as a group of deranged clowns wandered out of the alley and surrounded them.

Terry immediately moved himself between Mary and Mathew and the approaching gang. Mary couldn't be sure but he seemed different somehow; despite the situation he was eerily calm and totally confident very much like his normal self but somehow more dangerous. Marry almost fainted when he spoke.

"Keep moving dregs." His voice was an ice cold growl and the spliced hyena hybrid growled in response and lunged toward him. Terry sidestepped and drilled several punches into the beasts face and body, leaving him to stagger a short distance before collapsing to the pavement.

"Get him!" the clown in the purple suit yelled.

Mary caught a glimpse of his face as he danced around the Jokerz, it was hard and dangerous and showed no fear about stepping into a confrontation with the feared gang. He seemed to be picking them apart at will, soon they fled, limping and carrying each other into the ally, there had been six of them.

******************

"Terry didn't back down or even flinch. He just glanced over his shoulder long enough to make sure that Matt and I were alright before he jumped right in there. When they fled I even had to stop him from giving chase."

"And that's when you knew?"

"Yes. It was still my son there, all his mannerisms and courage but Batman was there to, despite the suit being nowhere in sight."

* * *

A/N: As always, I hope you enjoyed this update. And please leave comments and critiques.

Peace,

-Kobez2.0- 01/16/2010


	3. Chapter 2

Dana Tan

"Thank you for joining us Ms. Tan."

"Call me Dana."

"Very well Dana, um I guess I should just jump right into it. You and Terry were close, yes?"

"We were engaged. Set to be married the morning he died." He voice quivered and she wiped a tear from her eye.

"I'm so sorry for your loss."

"Thank you."

"So did you know Terry was Batman?"

"Yes."

"How did you find out?"

Dana gave a sad laugh. "It wasn't too hard. I was yelling at him one day for ditching out on a date, _again_, and he came right out and told me. Showed me the suit and everything."

"That sounds remarkably similar to what Mrs. McGinnis told me, I have to ask; did you believe him?"

"Sort of. I know him very well and I knew he wasn't lying, he even had supporting evidence. But still, _Batman?_"

"So when did you know for sure?"

"He occasionally put the suit on right in front of me and went on his patrols, but what really knocked it into my head was after he'd gotten hurt fighting the Royal Flush gang. He came into school all bruised up and hobbling on a cane, told everyone that he was moving some boxes around for Mr. Wayne when he stumbled coming down the stairs."

"But you knew otherwise."

"Yeah, but what really cinched it for me was when we were walking down the hallway on our way back to Chem 30. He needed to go for some physio and the professor had be walk him down and then go get him when he was done. Anyway, we were on our way back and there was this explosion. Kids came pouring out of the lab, smoke was already billowing out. After a minute it became apparent that Dr. Graboski was still inside. Terry thrust his cane into my hands and hopped off before I could even try to stop him. A few moments later he came out dragging Dr. Graboski while sliding backwards on his butt. Firefighters said he saved his life."

"It must have been a sight to behold."

"My heart almost stopped. Terry's clothes were burned and smouldering, his hair was singed and his face was smudged with soot and smoke. Even as firefighters rushed in to take over he had this look on his face, I can't even describe it. He wasn't afraid at all, at least not for himself. One of the paramedics tried to assess his injuries and Terry told '_I'm fine. Help him._' when the paramedic tried to push the issue, Terry just _glared_ at him."

"That's quite a story Dana, you mentioned Bruce Wayne. Do you think there was any possibility that he could be the original Batman? Perhaps the reason he hired Terry as his assistant was because Terry was his understudy, so to speak?"

"It's possible. But who knows? Does it even matter?"

* * *

Maxine 'Max' Gibson

"Ms. Gibson, Thank you for joining us. Now, I guess the big question is; Did you know Terry was Batman?"

"Yes."

"He told you?"

"I found out."

"You discovered Batman's identity?"

"Yeah. It all made sense to. Terry would always vanish just before Batman appeared. He had this innate sense of personal justice. It wasn't out of the ordinary to see Terry defend some kid from bullies or stand up to a pack of Jokerz to protect some random person."

"There seems to be a trend where people found out that Terry was Batman but didn't necessarily believe him until a later date. Do you follow this trend?"

"I guess. Have you ever seen a man's eyes turn cold as ice? Heard his voice harden like quick dry cement?"

"No, but please continue."

"Terry was having a bad day, getting shit from teachers, his mom was mad at him. Had him grounded, confined to the apartment except to go to work and school. He and Dana were on an 'off' phase, if you know what I mean. We were walking home from school, I tried convincing Terry to go halves on a taxi, cuz that used to be a pretty bad neighbourhood, he just said that was ok, because he was in a bad mood. We were walking down the street when some girls, maybe juniors, took a short cut down an alley. We saw at least a dozen Jokerz follow after them. Terry just made a Beeline for the alley, I called out to him and he looked back to me. His face had hardened and I just knew that 'Terry' wasn't at the controls right now, if you follow me."

"_C'mon Terry. I know you're good, but there are over a dozen of those dregs."_

"_I'll give them the chance to call for back up. Make it a fair fight."_

***************

Mathew 'Matt' McGinnis

"Mathew good of you to join us."

"Right."

"It must have been pretty cool being Batman's little brother?"

"Bite me."

"So did Terry tell you that he was Batman or..."

"I heard when he told mom but I didn't believe him. Terry was twip, no way he could be Batman."

"So how _did_ you find out?"

"I was after Mr. Wayne died and gave most of his stuff to Terry. I got kidnapped cuz some dreg wanted to ransom me back to my family."

"That must have been scary."

"Meh," Matt shrugged, "Eventually Batman showed up at the warehouse I was being kept at and started beating down the thugs. I got away and hid when the fighting was going on. I was hiding behind some crates in the storage area when Batman came bouncing into my line of sight. He wasn't moving so I dragged him around the corner before anyone could see where he had gone. I tried waking him up for a minute or two but then curiosity got the best of me and I pulled his mask off. It was Terry under the suit."

"Then he woke up, kicked the bad guys butt and lead me to the exit. When I opened the door he was gone and then the limo pulled in and mom and Terry got out and came over to me."

"That sounds pretty intense." The interviewer says, "Tell me, do you plan to succeed your brother as Batman?"

"What, are you slow? That's a terrible idea. Not only would every criminal expect it. You know 'little brother getting revenge for big brother' kind of thing. But mom would have a heart attack. Don't get me wrong I still plan to help out. I'm already signed up for the GCFD, I go to training just after graduation in the spring."

"Well thank you for your time Mathew. Do you have anything else you'd like to add?"

"Yeah. Umm, Terry gave a lot to this city; Happiness, a future, relationships and friendships. His life. I just hope that all of that sacrifice wasn't in vain."

* * *

Max

"I just hope people don't take it for granted. There is so much that the average person can do to clean up the city, even without putting on a costume and fighting villains. You know I did some research and up until about the nineteen-sixties Gotham used to be a safe place; No one felt like they _had_ to lock their doors, kids ran around outside and played from sunrise to sun-set. Because there was always someone at home, everyone in the neighbourhood knew everyone else and they all looked out for each other's kids.

*******************

Dana

"I just hope people appreciate what he did; how hard it must have been to push himself to exhaustion time and again."

* * *

Mary

"I hope that people learn from Terry's life. Look how much he accomplished with just his good heart and a desire to help people."

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A/N: Well there it was. The second last chapter. Hope you all enjoy, and thank you so much to my reviewers (DarkPrince;)

Peace,

-Kobez2.0- 01/18/2010


	4. Epilogue

A/N: Well here it is. The final chapter. I hope you guys like it, and thanks to everyone who'se sent reviews and comments. Enjoy!

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6 October 2044. 2227 hrs.

Oh why did Mary-Anne allow her grandson's begging to convince her to run the corner store for ice cream at ten at night? She knew that at her age she wouldn't present as tempting a target as she once might have, but there were still muggers and run of the mill psycho's out there. And now with Batman dead, who would protect her from these Jokerz?

"Pl-Please." She begged, "I don't have any money. I spent the last of it on ice cream for my grandson. He's- He's sick."

"Well then lady it looks like-"

"Police! Don't move!" there was someone walking towards them with a bright flash light; it was hard to make him out in the darkness. "I said freeze!" The Jokerz scattered.

"Oh thank you so much officer." Mary-Anne practically grovelled.

"Don't worry about it lady." The flash light made one last sweep of the alley and then clicked off.

"You look awfully young to be a cop." Mary-Anne said as her aging eyes adjusted to the darkness in the alley.

"I'm not really a cop. I just had to get those dregs out of here. C'mon, I'll walk you home."

*******

7 October 2044. 0143 hrs.

"HELP!!!" She didn't know why she screamed. They've been saying for over forty years that you were supposed to yell 'fire' in a situation like this. There was a time when Batman might have heard her cry and come to help. But he was dead now.

Her attacker closed in. He seemed more interested in her jewellery or purse, be she knew how she looked. She was dressed for a night on the town, and every guy on campus couldn't keep their eyes off her on the best of days.

"HELP!"

"Is there a problem here?" Footsteps and a sharp _clack_ing sound. The mugger ran away.

"Are you alright little lady?" he saviour was an elderly man, probably no longer capable of winning a battle with an overstuffed pillow let alone the twenty-something mugger he'd just chased off.

"Umm, yeah. Thank you." She tried her best to dry her eyes and then preserve her modesty in front of the elder gentleman.

"It was no trouble miss." He replied, "I live just over there if you want to come and wait for a taxi."

**********

10 October 2044. 1547 hrs.

"Daddy stop! Please daddy you're hurting me! I'm sorry. Please!" He pleaded, "Mommy?!" SMACK

THUMP THUMP THUMP. Hard banging on the front door, a man's voice yelling.

"James!"Mr. Wesly from next door, "You wanna hit something you come take a swing at me you son of a bitch!"

Daddy looks worried; Mr. Wesly is a big man. He's in the army.

Knock Knock Knock.

"James Gravens. This is the GCPD open the door !"

**********

12 October 2044. 1533 hrs.

"Let go of me! MOMMY!"

The little girl's family was worth millions. All he had to do was get her into the car and then he could hide her away and ransom her location back to her parents. If things went smoothly the girl might even live to grow up and go to college.

"MOMMY!!"

"Baby-"

Success! She was in the vehicle. He shifted gears and stepped on the gas. But he only traveled a few feet when another car crashed into the front drivers side, just hard enough to push in up on the curb and sandwich it between the vehicle and a light post. He tried backing up but the car wouldn't budge. His door was jerked open and he was hauled out of the vehicle.

*********

18 October 2048. 1800 hrs.

"Gotham City PD are being nearly overwhelmed with phone calls over the last few weeks." The news anchor began, "Receiving calls to report crimes that were previously ignored. On that note, the Channel Four call center has been overloaded with calls from people wishing to both report and express gratitude for the good Samaritans who have intervened in everything from muggings to kidnappings."

"It seems that people are taking a more active role in protecting their communities in the wake of the passing of Terry McGinnis, better known as the late vigilante Batman. One can only hope that this trend continues. In other news..."

_According to the information available Alfred had been hibernating for over two years. It was now July 2047, and he had been online for almost a six months._

_His hibernation had originally been interrupted when one of his subroutines came across a news story about a masked figure with a black cape intervening in a mugging. So he brought himself fully online and began diligently scanning the internets from his new home in an abandoned section of the Gotham City subway tunnels, the auxiliary Batcave set up by Bruce Wayne over five decades ago in case the manor ever became compromised._

_His searching had revealed that there were dozens of reports of a masked figure in black breaking up muggings and such. But only within a small radius around downtown, well, small compared to the area that Master Terry used to patrol, but that was easily rectified._

_He ran the subroutine Oracle and her hack into the City's surveillance and kept look out for this figures next appearance. After pinning him down it had been easy enough to make contact. Ah speak of the devil..._

The Bat-mobile roared into the cave and powered down. The canopy slid open and a Batman rose from the cockpit. At first glance he looked nearly identical to Master Terry, until you noticed that the crimson bat was smaller and the cape that flowed seamlessly from the cowl and draped around the shoulders, coloured black except for the crimson streaks that ran along the contours from shoulder to floor. A hand came up to the throat and then pulled the headpiece off, taking the cape with it, to reveal a boy of about 22 with blonde hair and green eyes.

"Good morning Master Gregory. I trust your evening went smoothly?"

"Yeah. How'd I do?" The large screen flickered to life and began showing a digitize simulation of what Gregory had done during the night, a sort of de-briefing.

"Man I still can't believe I get to do this. Why'd you contact me again?" he asked Alfred.

"Loading audio file." Alfred responded dutifully, Before Gregory could ask what he meant, Bruce Wayne's voice drifted through the cave.

"A very wise woman once told me that the world will always need Batman."


End file.
